Rutgers baseball wins two of three to capture the series over Charleston Southern

Over the weekend, Rutgers baseball won two of three games over Charleston Southern to capture their third series victory in 2024.

Over the weekend, Rutgers baseball (8-2) won two of three games over Charleston Southern (5-6) to capture another series victory. The Scarlet Knights opened their three-game set with an 11-8 loss on Saturday morning but would bounce back to win 9-1 on Saturday night and 9-7 on Sunday. The Scarlet Knights captured their third series victory in 2024 with back-to-back wins.

Game 1

Rutgers jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in game one, but the Scarlet Knights failed to hold the lead, giving up three runs in the bottom of the first inning and an RBI double in the second inning, cutting the lead to 5-4.

In the top of the third inning, Rutgers RJ Johnson increased the lead to 7-4 with a two-run double. The Scarlet Knights added another run in the top of the fourth inning with a sac fly by Hugh Pinkney.

Charleston Southern chipped away at the lead with a solo home run, cutting Rutgers’ lead to 8-5. Rutgers’ momentum would end in the bottom of the fourth inning when the Buccaneers closed the game with six unanswered runs to capture the 11-8 victory.

 

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Game 2

Game two started slow, with both teams trading zeroes in the first two innings. In the top of the third inning, Rutgers Josh Kuroda-Grauer, Pete Durocher, and Jordan Sweeney drove in runs with RBI singles to give Rutgers a 3-0 lead.

With Jackson Natili, Johnny Volpe, and Cameron Love registering a single, a sac bunt, and a sac fly, the Scarlet Knights extended their lead to 6-0 in the top of the fourth inning. In the seventh inning, the Scarlet Knights added three more runs to extend their lead to 9-0.

Rutgers pitcher Justin Sinibaldi recorded a career performance on the mound for the Scarlet Knight, logging a career-high 11 strikeouts. He went a career-high eight innings, giving up just one run on four hits and zero walks.

Game 3

The Scarlets Knights continued their offensive momentum in game three by recording nine runs on 15 hits. After falling behind 3-0 in the first inning, Rutgers chipped away at the Buccaneers’ lead with one run in the third. The Scarlet Knights exploded in the fourth inning, registering five runs to take the lead.

Charleston Southern didn’t quit, tying the game at 6-6 with a two-out double in the seventh inning. In the eighth inning, Love produced an RBI single to center to break the tie, giving Rutgers a 7-6 advantage. Again, the Buccaneers did not go away easy, tying the game at 7-7 in the bottom of the eighth with two straight doubles to start the frame.

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Pinkney started the rally in the top of the ninth inning for the Scarlet Knights, recording a double with one out. Rutgers’ Trevor Cohen recorded the game-changing blow, lining a single up the middle to make it 8-7. After Cohen’s RBI single, Durocher added an insurance run to extend Rutgers’ lead to 9-7.

Rutgers pitcher Joey DeChiaro held the Buccaneers scoreless in the bottom of the ninth to capture the 9-7 victory.

The Scarlet Knights return to action for their home opener on Tuesday against Wagner at 3 p.m. at Bainton Field.